A House Divided

In 1858, Abe Lincoln made a speech in Springfield, Missouri, when accepting the Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate. He titled his speech, "A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand." Lincoln was referring to the division of slavery states verse non-slavery states and predicted a reconning was coming for our nation.

I often hear that comment about our government today. The idea that if the Democrat and Republican politicians could just get along and agree, we would be better off, but the truth of the matter is that the only way to save our state and our nation is for our politicians to be more divided. That may sound a little odd, but let me explain.

When we watch the news and hear all the fighting and bickering between Republican and Democrat politicians, it takes us back to our days as kids. Most of us remember fighting and bickering with our siblings and our mom telling us to get along. We were taught that compromising and not hogging the favored toy was a better way to live our lives. Then, in Sunday school, we learned to treat others with respect and not selfishly demand our way.

When we watch our politicians and we see them acting like spoiled kids fighting and bickering, we naturally hear our mom’s voice say, "Stop all that bickering and get along".

But what we don’t realize is that all that bickering is an act. Our problem is not that the politicians are divided; our problem is that they all agree too much.

Just a few months ago, Democrats and Republicans in Congress were arguing and bickering about raising the debt ceiling. The Republicans were demanding we reduce our debt and stop spending money US citizens don’t have, and the Democrats were demanding we raise the debt ceiling to an unlimited amount.

What happened?

Speaker McCarthy went to the White House and came back with a deal that raised the debt ceiling. So you may be asking,Why? Because raising the debt ceiling gives them unlimited money to spread around their districts to buy their re-election. That money has gone to Republicans and Democrats. So they never really disagreed. They always wanted the same thing: money for their district on which to base their re-election.

I see it every day in the Mississippi legislature, too. The Democrats and Republicans bicker and argue in public, but they all agree on one main idea. That idea is that the government knows best how to solve your problems. The Republicans aren’t fighting for the Republican platform that says you know best how to spend your own money and solve your problems; they believe they should spend your money, and you should listen to them about how to solve your problems. The Republicans and Democrats really only disagree on who gets to spend your money.

So once again, the politicians are in agreement.

But the American people seem more divided than ever, and that is also something they agree on. Both Democrats and Republicans know that as long as they keep the American people angry and divided, they get re-elected. The division among the people gives them something to run on and someone to run against.

In the Mississippi legislature, anyone who refuses to compromise on our Republican Party ideology is hated by the other legislators. When one legislator or a group like the Mississippi Freedom Caucus refuses to compromise, it exposes those who have sold out a party principle. When members of the Mississippi Freedom Caucus refused to support legislation that raises local taxes, we heard mayors complain that we are "unwilling to work with local leadership" or "they can’t get along with the city government officials". What they mean is that we refuse to violate the Republican Party principle of lower taxes. Instead of agreeing, we held to our principles.

The only way to solve this problem is to elect people who believe in the Republican Party platform. We must elect men and women who are willing to fight and even sacrifice their political careers to uphold our ideals and policies. If you hear a candidate say he or she will "work better with local government", or "get along with leadership better," know that they are really saying they are willing to compromise on the principles in which they claim to believe. Your mom may have taught you to get along with others, but she never said to give up your principles just to make a friend or to serve yourself.

The primary election is quickly approaching; August 8 is an important day. We must choose men and women who believe in the Republican Party's ideology and are willing to fight for those ideals.

Check out my list of qualified candidates who will fight for our rights and freedoms.